End of Curse
by Nan Kalle
Summary: Gaia needs the child of her nemesis to finally heal. But is there a force strong enough to get through to him? Avalanche, the Turks and an unknown enemy are hunting for Holy to end the Curse. But only Yuffie knows where she has hidden Holy. Or does she?
1. Prologue: Mother Dearest

Disclaimer. Read carefully. I will bore you with this, only once.

SQUARE ENIX (Formerly SQUEAR SOFT) owns. I, sadly, do not. I'm just playing with the characters of the game (and the movie, and the -other- game, and the anime, and etc, etc, etc….) and I am not making money out of this.

Keeping with the tradition of the FF games, this story will have a theme-song, lyrics all by me (yay!), an ending, a secret ending and a -very- secret ending. But you won't have to frantically push the buttons to make it through the boss-fights, just be patient with me and read on.

For the theme song, imagine the wonderful voice of Utada Hikaru singing a tune akin Sanctuary (Kingdom Hearts 2 Theme).

With the release of 'Crisis Core' this story will probably become terribly AU. I will be toying with certain game concepts that, strictly spoken, are not canon. Hope you like anyways.

I have no beta- and I am not a native speaker of the English language. I would appreciate any constructive criticism in that regard.

And reviews. Lots. Reviews are good.

Oh- and yes, there -is- something about the title- like AC of Advent Children, BC of Before Crisis, CC of Crisis Core and DC of Dirge of Cerberus. I believe that Square Enix -has- the next game in mind with an EC- but I'm still claiming it for my little tale.

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**END OF CURSE**

**By Nan Kalle**

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**Prologue: Mother Dearest**

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_I'll fight my way back through the currents of time_

_Drowning in You_

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"End it!"

Didn't she have any -idea- how annoying she could be at times?

"End it!" the disembodied whispering voice repeated, harsher now. "Finish him now! Kill him- there is no controlling him!"

But why? Why -was- there no controlling him? Not anymore?

How good it felt to simply -move- again, to feel the wind when he jumped higher and higher- to see the flash of the blades and hear the clear splitting clang of metal against metal.

It felt just so good to breath.

"But you're not breathing"- the soft, feather light touch upon his mind faded in and away- pulsating with the stolen heartbeat of the Planet.

And for just that one instant all went green and blue and cold- so cold-

No!

End it.

The sky had turned dark at his command. Damned spirits spiralled downward to poison the living soil and steal the breath of all that existed-

Would he not need breath to exist?

A moments hesitation, an opening given and luckily not taken- the boy still was no match for him. He switched the long blade playfully to his other hand and came again. The next blow was blocked- another- blocked. He jumped up, higher- slicing through metal and concrete- sending the rubble downward wrapped in taunting.

"Stop fooling around, child."

A caress over his shoulders and back, like a dog being patted- he arched into the ghostly touch, needing it. Needing to be reminded there was one that cared for him- out there.

But, really, would he -not- need breath to exist?

The blades met in midair, the fierceness in the blue stare belying any fear.

He should be stronger than this- but he felt as if parts of him where missing, crawling towards this 'reunion', hell-bent on joining with him. Memories that were not there, guile and strength, calm and ferociousness both- Well, he had to make do with what -was- there, even if it took longer than what Mother would have liked. He enjoyed this little post resurrection workout entirely too much. And smiled.

Gently jumping up to Shinra's former pride, he decided to deal with this bad memory and the one below for once and al. The wrecked structure could not handle the combined blow of himself touching down and Strife jamming his blade into the tower to keep himself from falling. The overhang of the top landing broke away, and the former president's office fell in one massive pile of stone and metal and god knows what else had still been up there. Expecting the avalanche, he turned and sliced through it, knowing the boy to be capable of dealing with the rubble. So he jumped down again, fell through the tonnes of disregarded debris and whacked the other man, who countered him -again-, but only just.

Riding the tide of stone, their blades met again and again, hard and brutal. He had to concentrate with all his might on dealing blows, avoiding them, avoiding concrete and dust and the -ground-! The voice in his mind whispered. "Not now, Mother!" he hissed back, angrily. There was something akin a surprised huff, and laughter, clear as a bell and inviting.

Fire crackled below, as the building collapsed in on itself. Strife hacked through yet another part of the honeycombed structure that once had been the hallways he had graced, offices he had worked in- Laboratories-

This was no longer fun, he decided. He had to be whole again- somehow. And Strife's demise was but the first steppingstone on that road. The boy was becoming weary- and exhausted. He could see him collapse, hand on his stomach and clearly in pain.

"Now.." came the low hiss in his mind.

"End it now!"

So he jumped over and sliced at him- but hit only air for Strife quickly rolled away, saved by his mako enhanced instincts. However, the lad was clearly pushed to the defence now and a hard unexpected hit with the elbow threw him. Strife rolled away, tried to pick himself up, but he was in the boy's face before Cloud could move. Another blow, a well aimed kick and Strife, the wind knocked out of him, came to sit with his back against a part of ceiling jammed in man-made rock.

Gods- he -hated- that boy. Bile rose up in him and he could taste the defeats of the past- How Strife's blade had cowardly skewered him from behind- forced his jump into the lifestream, wore him out battle after battle and just would not die! Cloud was so much the weaker in both body and spirit- never had the training that could have made him a match if one disregarded the experience gained skip-hopping all over the planet and fighting it's dangers-

Him and that motley crew of misfits and rebels-

He was -entitled- to enjoy the end.

"No- Just kill!"

Yes! But dammit, not-right-now!

First blood- he had to hand it to Strife- the boy did not cry out at the deadly kiss the Masamune planted on his shoulder. Right under the collarbone cutting through the soft tissues only. Death would -not- come quickly!

"What do you treasure most," he heard himself ask, "I want the joy of taking it from you."

Pity vengeance, perhaps- Why de hell was he so pity? If Loz had been part of him, he would simply had clobbered the boy to death already, if Yazoo had been there, he would not have taken time for this at all and finished what he had started instantly, not merely slicing through the shoulder, but directly aiming for the heart. But there was only one cruel and childish remnant of him living inside.

It had been the wrong thing to say. Something flashed behind those pain filled -glowing- eyes, and Cloud- in complete disregard of the pain, grabbed the slender blade and pulled it out, planting it him firmly in the concrete he had leant against.

He jumped away gracefully, more than a little surprised.

"How sad," the boy had the gall to say to him, "- you just don't understand at all!"

The damned thing was, that there was no fire in Cloud's answer- not the all consuming -hatred- he himself felt. There was a real sadness in that boy, who suddenly became a man-

And a cold inside the man whom to his surprise was reduced to the fears of a boy.

He chuckled, silencing what he felt, and attacked again. But the blow he was met with fell on his blade with such strength he had to jump away and retreat- The power- the power he nor his mother understood- it flared and burned and made Strife the unbeatable force of years past-

Strife narrowed his eyes while jumping up at him. "There is nothing I do -not- treasure!"

For a moment they hung in midair, frozen, staring in the eyes of the other- and he -knew- he had lost- He had lost the instant he had threatened Strife's loved-ones.

How odd.

Strife swung his blade over his head, and it started to glow with a magic al of it's own.

He knew he had to move, jump away, duck what was coming- Run, if there was nothing else left.

But he felt hypnotized by the glow within Strife, something that had -nothing- to do with mako, or his mother, or training or will- Strife was no longer fighting against- He was fighting -for-. And the young warrior had been right. He did not understand at all.

He moved the Masamune to ward off the coming attack, but Strife's Buster sword split into five hidden components that surrounded him instantly, and the sixth part Strife still held glowed.

He was amazed, mystified, the voice of his Mother clouding his mind with her continued calls for Strife's bloody demise - the parts of him that drew near reaching for him- He could not concentrate and was held motionless by the confusion within. The first bow fell.

It felt as if Cloud passed right through him- knocking the wind and energy out of him- but there was no blood-

Why was there no blood?

All living things bleed- Strife's shoulder bled-

The scream in his mind went through his soul and rattled him more than he could take.

"Mine- you are mine- you are woven out of me- you cannot die."

Then how can I live?

"He is nothing- finish him! Finish him- Before he disperses you finish him!

I want to breathe!

The second blow came to his chest and although he reeled with the impact, there still was no blood- his lungs should have collapsed by the force of it-

I want to feel!

There were more hits, to his back, his head, and he felt the strength flow out of him, as if he simply could not hold on- Hold on to what?

Cloud fell down upon him, jumped away an landed below, the parts of his blade still glowing and gathering around him. The young warrior looked up at his form.

"Stay in my memories, where you belong!"

"You have disappointed me- Perhaps I should call upon you're your brother- next time."

But I have no brothers- And I won't just fade!

He -would- return! Whole and complete. And then he -would- declare his last war on this world- And defeat it.

If there was no breath in him- if there was no -life- in him, he would know no weakening desire- next time. The old pain ripped through his soul and showed itself to the world with dark feathers, the beautiful sign of the monster within. In-blue eyes looked up at him, almost emotionless now- hiding the secret that had granted him his defeat-

Next time, he would -know- of that secret.

Next Time.

"I will never be a memory."


	2. Drowning In You

Disclaimer: see prologue

Every movie, every game, needs a song, the opening music. The theme of the tale. This one belongs to mine. Just imagine the wonderful voice of Utada Hikaru singing a tune akin Sanctuary (Kingdom Hearts 2 Theme). I really do love that one.

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**END OF CURSE**

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**Drowning In You**

**By Nan Kalle**

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Slow falling feels

Never like downwards

Until deep waters close

And drowning is easy

But for you and I

There is no open road now

The past interferes

When a proud man resists

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I can fight any thing that would take up a blade

I can scale any mountain; I can die for you

But I can't speak the words; they live not in my mind

For the first time I fear and don't know what to do

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Slow falling feels

Almost like flying

Heady and deep

And drowning is easy

Such an open face

How dare you trust so?

Life could not break

The laughter within you

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You've stolen what I not even knew as mine

And now that it is lost, why does it feel like gain?

I need to find the bridge someplace between our lives

But if I loose myself, what of us will remain?

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Slow falling feels

Without direction

If the next fall is feared

Drowning is easier

When children are taught

A hand cannot comfort

The lie will remain

And the Curse gets past on

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Drowning in you cleansed me of a lifetime of lies

You washed them away by simply being who you must be

I'll fight my way back through the currents of time

Graced by the chance of forgiveness that you gave to me

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Drowning in you

I'm drowning in you

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Drowning in you

I'm drowning in you


	3. A Walk In The Park

Disclaimer: see prologue

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**END OF CURSE**

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**CHAPTER ONE: A WALK IN THE PARK**

**By Nan Kalle**

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_I can fight anything that would take up a blade_

_I can scale any mountain; I can die for you_

_Drowning in You_

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Yuffie Kisaragi gave an ear splitting shriek that was probably meant as some kind of ferocious battle cry, threw her oversized shuriken with uncanny precision at the next floating skinny whatever and watched it shiver and disappear with satisfaction, before ducking the attack of the next spectre. She misjudged her footing, landed on her bum with a far less dignified shout, and covered her ears against the bang of Vincent Valentine's triple barrelled gun, fired closely over her head and dispersing the dammed skinny thing in turn. He offered Yuffie his clawed hand and pulled her up. With a little nod of thanks, she turned to calmly retrieve her weapon.

"Yes," the deep, quiet voice of the gunman acknowledged wryly. "A really, terribly, boring place."

Time and water had eaten away the insides of the grand mountain rock that was now known as Cosmo Canyon. Outside, water that had dried up eons ago, had eroded the stone until steep valleys divided the sharp ridges. Here, deep within the rock, an anthill like maze had formed of damp walkways, great halls and narrow ledges alongside bottomless gaps. Eerie greenish light came from slimy fluorescent fungi, that seemed to ooze out of every crack it had gotten a foothold in. Many corridors crisscrossed the wanderers' path, leading to a darkness just around the bend- The air was stale and stank of rotting plants- Yuffie really hoped it were -just- rotting plants.

"Well- I never really went down -here- before! Its not like -cheech- Last time we were here I had to sit up there, with you guys, staring in that stupid fire, listening to Caith's jokes that weren't funny at -all-, watching the rest of you being all broody and miserable for some reason or other! While Cloud and Aeris had all the fun down here!"

Yuffie was rubbing the backside of her shorts- dark shorts thankfully- That slimy stuff would leave stains on lighter material. She pulled something off, made a face at the feel of it and threw it casually over her shoulder without looking. Even the edges of Vincent's tattered red cape picked up dirt down here- and that was saying something. For a moment, an evil grin graced the young ninja's face as she pondered the unavoidable row between her morose friend and another friend, Tifa Lockheart, who was not with them, when the latter would be prying the cape from Vince's shoulders to throw it in the wash-

Looking ahead, said morose friend spied another fight going on in the dim light of the fluorescent cave walls. Walking in front of Vincent and Yuffie but trailing a bit behind the others, went Shelke Rui alongside Nanaki who had Caith Sith on his back. Shelke was carrying a backpack and a box. At the front of the little caravan was Cloud, happily whacking a skinny spectre, together with Barret, who was battering yet another spectre with bullets. The weird skinny things went up in a red haze and Barret turned, grinning.

"Well Red, there's another one for you- How far -do- these damn caves go on anyways?"

Yuffie huffed. "They go on, and on and on…"

Cloud smiled. Thinly, but the smile was there. "Well, quite a while."

"I do not understand." Shelke said in her soft, monotonous voice. The child-woman turned towards Nanaki with that puzzled little frown on her face she wore often. There were a lot of things new to her, in the larger world. She was wearing her Deepground battle fatigues so she could move more freely than she would have in her 'civvies', and easily store her sabre like energy weapons. She had had not much need for them yet, surrounded as she was by her friends, who were acting as very effective bodyguards. Leaving her in charge of the valuable apparatus she lumped around. The blue fluorescent markings on her suit blended with the greenish light from the rocks, giving her an unnatural pallor. She moved between the others quietly, observant, and mildly curious.

"Why would one wish to remain after death merely to guard and abandoned system of caves, leading nowhere but to the statue of the one who vanquished them?"

Vincent put his good hand on her shoulder. "That we brought you here for to find out."

Nanaki, the red furred lion like lupine, looked up at the girl with his one, saddened glowing yellow eye. "Shelke- All I know is that they are here. Cursed, unrepentant, and apparently forever. Their hatred and vengefulness is blocking their path to the Lifestream."

"Yeah," added the little ninja- "But those idiot things do not even seem to -know- they are all blue and skinny and dead like-"

Barret, checking his gun-arm nodded with a frown. "But they die as if they die, know what I mean?"

Cloud nodded, and shivered. "Almost as if they understand that if we beat them, they -should- be dead, and then forget about it and return."

Vincent crossed his arms, staring ahead in the soft glowing tunnel.

"If so, we are in Hel."

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They moved on, avoiding treading on ancient carcasses that decorated the grotto's floor and made Yuffie go 'ieew!' a lot. Which seemed to annoy Battet and Cloud, amuse Vincent and made Nanaki, sniffing at the bones, absentmindedly declaring that he was hungry.

Shelke stored all given information away for later contemplation, as was her habit. Barret, tall, dark, broad shouldered and constantly fumbling his new and improved gun-arm, was explaining all the details of the craftsmanship to Cloud. He seemed quite at home, surrounded by the ongoing walls of rock and to be revelling in the opportunity to test his new toy. Not surprising really- the man was an ex-coal miner so the surrounds should be somewhat familiar to him. And as an ex-rebel leader, he still loved the thrill of a good fight. Nowadays Barret Wallace served as a prospector, hoping to do what he could to ensure a better future for all those who had survived the last three tumultuous years. Years in which the planet had faced her total destruction three times over by the violence of madmen, combined with the destructive manipulation of the powers of the planet's own life force and science wrought by man. Not to mention the destruction of the planet's life force during the five or six decades before that.

Barret was quite an inspiration to Shelke, although she doubted if he realised it. Usually an absent one, he still was a doting father on his adopted little girl, Marlene, the daughter of his one time best friend. Barret had summoned up his life, mourned his losses deeply and had decided that he was no good to anyone if went looking for some ditch to die in. Dyne, the natural father of Marlene, had not been able to cope with the tragic events that had shaped his life. He had gone mad, and had wanted to destroy the whole world. Including his friends, loved-ones and himself. Shelke had heard the stories from the travels her companions had made, three years before she had finally been freed from her underground prison- She understood that meeting Dyne for Barret had been like staring in a twisted mirror. A road into despair he very easily could have taken himself. But the responsibility he had taken to raise Marlene, and the love he held for her, had saved him from that. He had decided he had a debt to the living and had survived his many adventures to be able to pay up. And so he worked around the globe, tirelessly, and even seemed to find happiness in the laughter of his child and the company of his friends.

Next to him walked the quiet man fondly referred to by his friends as 'Chocobo-head', or 'Spike', due to his -really- unruly mob of light blond hair. His slight build, compared to the other males in the group, and gentle features belied nothing of the true strength and power the young warrior held. He too had been a damaged man, but who in their little band had not suffered the past? Cloud Strife, the unassuming and mostly unknown hero of the 'Jenova-war'. Just another simple delivery boy, who could knock a Behamoth out of mid-air and defeat crazed super soldiers on a rainy afternoon. If Barret was Shelke's inspiration, Cloud was the one she had the most empathy for. Like herself, he had lost a father at too young an age, and like her own, his childhood had been a miserable one. But at least she had had a loving sister to protect her in her yearly years, even if her mother had died too. Cloud had had no-one, even if his mother had lived. Pride and the need to prove himself to the ones who had snubbed him, had driven him into the service of Shinra, the world spanning and one time all powerful company, that had also seen fit to make a deep cut into her own life. Shinra deployed it's own private army and within the ranks of that army had been an elite group named SOLDIER. Artificially enhanced warriors who were made out to be the epitome of chivalry and bravery, the knights in shining armour riding over the hill on golden Chocobos to save the day. The less dignified truth had been that these people had been no more than Shinra's armed forces, repressing the general populous and rebel groups with the utmost violence, whenever the company saw fit to use them.

But the young teen Cloud had been had not known all this. All he knew was that he had wanted to be a hero- and that he had failed. He never reached the SOLDIER-program. Instead, he had become part of a monstrous experiment that in the end had given his body extraordinary powers, but had left his mind in tatters.

Again, a fate alike the Shelke's. But she had been lucky again, compared to Cloud. The new friends she had found were supportive and knew what was going on with her. But only because Cloud's experiences had taught them how to help. Cloud had found his friends after he finally had gotten away from those who abused him. But at the time they had not known what had been done to him, nor how to help him. It had taken Cloud massive battles, both outside and within, to finally find himself.

Right now he finally seemed at peace with himself and the world. Shelke thought that Tifa had a -lot- to do with that. It was however, surprising that Tifa, a bit shyly, had declined to join this little sojourn. There was something going on, a secret. But since it made Cloud content and Tifa happy, Shelke did not worry about it.

Besides, the pilot of their transport, Cid Highwind, needed the company up in his airship, waiting their return. Cid Highwind, Captain of his beloved airship The Shera II, who could be both acting admiral of a fleet of airships an be mayor of Rocket-town at the same time, was at a loss in dealing with children. This time both Barret's daughter and Denzel, a boy Tifa and Coud had adopted into their little family, had come with them. It had been an easy flight to Cosmo Canyon, the red rock mountain range in the deep desert, broken my mighty cliffs and, true to it's name, steep unscalable canyons. One of the cliffs held the little village Nanaki had grown up in, and that was were they had been heading to. Long ago, when Nanaki had only been a cub, his parents had defended the canyon against a tribe only known as the 'Gi'. Nanaki's mother had died during that battle. Seto, Nanaki's father, had met the enemy head on and defended the canyon from the other side. He had won, but lost his life during battle. Poisoned arrows had turned him to stone. Nanaki however, did not believe the spirit of his father had left the statue that had become Seto's grave. Nanaki had seen the statue cry- had felt the tears on his snout.

And now there was Shelke. Shelke with the unique ability that had been labelled the Synaptic Net Dive. Through the use of certain specially programmed computers, she was able to project a virtual self into a network, communicate with or 'dive' into the data she found there, and retrieve information. She could also do this to the subconscious of sentient beings and in effect, become a mind-reader.

It did not take much for Nanaki to realise the possibilities this talent of hers held regarding contacting the spirit of his father. He almost begged Shelke to consider helping him. Tifa overheard and talked to Cloud. Cloud in turn contacted a man named Reeve Tuesti, the leader of the World Regenesis Organisation. WRO for short.

Reeve, although at some distance, was also a member of what Shelke regarded as Cloud's and Tifa's extended family. He was, like them, a hero of the Jenova-war -and- one of the few members, if not the only one, of the old Shinra-establishment the public actually seemed to trust. Reeve had been landed with the task to restore civilisation on Gaia. Originally an architect, he seemed the one man capable of doing the job. He was also the only man who could get his hands on the delicate mobile apparatus Shelke would need to be able to make the dive.

But mister Reeve Tuesti was a rather curious sort in more ways than one. Shelke's machine had come with an animatronic in the form of a small black cat that was caped, crowned, and walked on his hind legs. She had seen Reeve use the puppet once before, during the conflict with the Deepground soldiers. The thing declared that 'he' was rather a busy man in person, but that he really needed to know how things worked out between herself, the machine and Seto.

Cloud's only and for Shelke rather cryptic comment had been that he was glad Caith Sith had not brought the Moogle. After that, the cat had been scooped up by Marlene and try as he might, she would not let go of 'her' new toy until they had reached the Canyon. None of the others seemed willing to help the poor little robot, so Shelke did not volunteer any either.

Tifa, kind, balanced, down to earth and motherly Tifa, had already started to make phone calls, collecting both Barret and Vincent from god knows where they were at the moment, and arranging for Cid to be their 'cab' to the canyon. Yuffie had been lingering in Edge for some reason or other, not exactly willing to return to her homeland of Wutai. So naturally she hopped on as well. Edge being Cloud and Tifa's hometown of choice. Since danger was not really expected in the air, Malene and Denzel were treated on a sweet ride through the skies. The children's admiration made Cid proud- but their constant badgering of him with all kinds of questions made him cry out for their mother- Earning him an instant reprimand from Tifa for his excessive use of profanities in front of the children. Who had been staring up at Cid, open mouthed and with glowing red ears. They didn't really seem to mind the language, though.

The group came to a halt, four Ghostly warriors of the once mighty Gi-tribe blocking their path. Nanaki sprinted forward, a yelping Caith Sith clinging to his fur, and attacked with a ferocious growl. Without comment, Shelke leaned a bit to the left and felt the wind of the thrown shuriken on her face, followed by a sprinting ninja, again shouting her battle cry. Shelked waited for the others to finish with the ghosts, a gloved hand on her shoulder and the steady presence of Vincent at her back. Together they watched.

"They seem quite happy, working together like that."

Vincent only made a soft sound of acknowledgement.

Yuffie had become a friend Shelke could relate to in a girlish way, her mischievousness underscored perfectly by Shelke's cool logic and rarely shown dry humour. Shelke did not understand when Tifa had dubbed them 'the terrible twins' but she liked it. It was nice, to have a sister again. Even if technically she was the younger yet behaved like the elder. Nanaki had been a silent comfort, especially in those first peaceful days above ground. When the fighting against Deepground had been done and Shelke had hardly known what to do with herself. You could touch and cuddle him like a big pet, and he would behave like one, teaching her there was nothing wrong in the simple gestures between people. Or, in Nanaki's case, scratching his belly while he was writing on the floor in pure doggish bliss, all dignity forgotten. But he was also wise and patient, teaching her that one always had to keep hope sacred in your heart, and that most things could be very different from what they seemed.

However, it had been the man behind her that had thought her how to feel. He had freed her from the imprisonment of her own mind, had given her the courage to look into the light and not to be frightened by it. He had taught her about relying on others, and how good it felt when others relied on you. How sometimes, if you cared for someone, bringing a sacrifice for that loved one was the easies thing and the least you could do. Even if it meant your life. Her elder sister Shalua had shown her this, but at the time, Shelke had only been baffled by her sisters sacrifice. Vincent had helped her understand. Vincent never treated her like the ten-year-old she still seemed to be. He had helped her sort out her own feelings, and those she had inherited from the in her mind downloaded files of his beloved Lucretia, even when he -knew- this meant losing the last link he had with her consciousness.

Vincent- perhaps he had suffered the most, lost the most of them all. But what scale does one put to misery and loss? Can anyone who does not share an experience really say that they understand? Shelke did not think so. Through Lucretia Crescent she had come to know the Turk that was Vincent Valentine- A Shinra hitman assigned to Lucretia's to ensure her safety. Violated to the point of dying by the same insane scientist that had held Cloud within his tender loving care. That scientist had turned Vincent into a monster. And in the end, Vincent had used the monster to save the world. Quite the come-back, actually. Vincent had sacrificed the greatest of the monsters he had living inside of him- but he did not seem to mind. He had confided in her that it had felt like regaining a bit of his humanity.

Shelke's own feelings in his regard were quite clear now, even if she had no clue if Vincent could ever answer them in the same manner.

She loved him.

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Green slimy snakelike critters with two rattling tales, something akin a cat with spikes on his back an way too skinny. More floating warriors spear at the ready and overgrown spiders, the former members of Avalanche took it in stride as if taking a little relaxing stroll down the park.

"Vincent?" Shelke asked.

"Hm?"

"Why is everybody behaving as if there is no danger here?"

"Actually, they're not. But compared to some of the things we have seen-" the gunman casually pulled his weapon, aimed at something that was not even half formed coming at them from the left, pulled the trigger and blew it apart. "These spectres are more bothersome to themselves than to us. But Cloud told me that up ahead, we might run into some real trouble."

"Oh."

Yuffie picked up un that.

"Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Vincent right? Is there something like really big up there? I mean, something I can really practice some moves on?"

Cloud shook his head. "Really big? Yeah, really big. Practice your moves on? Perhaps it's best if Vincent and Barret handled it at first. You can place a couple of throws, but we better not come close- not right away."

"What's up there than?"

Cloud frowned, not looking at Yuffie but at a memory: "I think-, it was a warrior, once. Big one. But he was-missing bits. I had his spinal cord- or what was left of it, dangling in my face when I hit him. Not nice."

Shelke saw Yuffie check her shuriken and sigh sadly. The materia slots on it where empty, and Shelke knew this was the same for the others.

The Planet was exhausted. For literally millenia she had fought the alien influence her human inhabitants had dubbed "Jenova". The creature had fallen from the sky and the impact of this disaster had made a huge crater that stood out in the landscape like the angry scar of a disease. The Planet had been trying to heal that scar ever since she took it. But far worse- the alien had tried to suck up the life from Gaia itself and had infected the people of so long ago with madness and monstrous mutating genes. Normally, when one died, the spirit of that life went back to the life stream that circled within the planet, returning to it with all what they had learned during life, enlarging the experience of all. But when the ones infected started dying and their souls entered the spirit realm, the lifesteam itself became tainted and the world spawned monsters.

Mankind was never an innocent race. It had always known of jealousy and greed. The human monsters that had always lived among the general populous saw their chance and an age of war descended upon man. The various peoples were still fighting it.

Shelke, although no scientist, had been one of the first to realise -why- exactly the materia was disappearing. Her knowledge came from the combined research of the brightest minds, although not the sanest, the world had seen these past fifty years. The long years in the world below had given her both the time and the opportunity to do her own research, hiding from those who thought themselves her masters. She needed to train herself in their service, she had told them. Shelke never knew if she had been believed. She had been ready when they wished to use her and that was all that had mattered. Like an extension pack to better question the database.

To fight her exhaustion, to fight for her very existence, Gaia needed spirit energy. It started with the mako fountains drying up all over the world, as if the world had gone into shock ad pulled it's energy deep within it's own body to keep the vital organs going. Maretia was condensed mako and the world apparently needed the stones as well. The beautiful globes started to crack and break up, turned to dust and returned to the soil. There was no stopping it, it seemed. And the people of Gaia needed to rely more and more on their own strengths.

On all of Gaia, only one mako fountain had remained, the tainted fountain that held corrupted materia, and served as the last resting place of the almost-but-not-quite-completely-dead Lucretia, Vincent's lover of old. One day, even this fountain would be taken back into the world. Perhaps Lucretia's body would disappear with it. Perhaps Gaia would be merciful and finally allow the mourning lady to enter the life stream and dissolve both her body and spirit. If not, it would probably fall to Vincent to catch the woman's body when the fountain went, stand by her in her truly final moments, and find her a resting place in the soil.

Shelke hoped the woman would just go up in a proverbial puff of smoke. She was grateful to Lucretia for the help she had given them all, and especially Vincent, during the Deepground Crisis. It had saved them. But she was getting really sick of the lingering voice in her mind, repeating over and over again that 'she was -so- sorry'.

Shelke realised Yuffie really had a 'bad' influence on her, when she started answering that ghostly whisper with an annoyed 'Yes, we -know-! Get over it already!'

Yuffie had been hit hard by this apparently natural process of the disappearing materia. Ever since she could fend for herself, Yuffie had been hunting and stealing materia in the hope that the ancient magic and knowledge condensed in the stones would restore her war-beaten homeland to it's former splendour. But now she had to find another way and the lithe ninja felt lost.

It was also a personal tragedy for Shelke. Not long after her tenth birthday, she had been drafted by Shinra to become one of its Deepground soldiers. Somehow they had realised her unique potential, the Synaptic Net Dive, and ruthlessly tried to break her. Shelke's body had been subjected to a variety of experiments and treatments to mould her into a perfect little tool and to destroy her sense of self. She had become that tool at terrible cost. Like a person with severe diabetes who needed daily shots of insulin, Shelke's body demanded mako like a medicine to stay alive. With the planet taking it back, the resources depleted quickly. Reeve was truly a life-saviour in this respect, because he made sure that whatever mako or materia he could lay his hands on was refined to suit Shelke's needs and passed on to her. The same was true for Barret, Vincent and Cloud on their travels.

But even with all their help, it seemed that Shelke was looking at six years of life at most. The predictions where that the planet would have taken all mako and materia inside her, and would have hidden the life stream deep and out of reach by then.

Shelke was therefore determent to enjoy every moment of her existence, and to repay whatever she could to those who cared for her and allowed her that existence. Contacting the soul of a dead hero was but a small thing, really. Nothing to worry about. And it would make such a difference to Nanaki.

With no enhancements and no summons, combatants had to rely solely on their own wits and endurance. And just had to hope they had enough stamina to take the blows needed to get so psyched up they could retaliate with their own natural forces and hope to Gaia to be able to do some real damage. Yuffie's desire to 'practice some moves' was a logical one. In the harsh circumstances the former members of Avalanche found themselves in too many times, her agility and skill was all she had.

Thousands of years ago, Gaia had become a very dangerous world to the human children it had spawned. The humans had fought monsters, dragons and disease. The death wish of the mighty, the corruption of the greedy. The jealousy and need ingrained in their souls, the fear for the other and the greater universe above, where nothing good had come from yet.

But the Ancients had had weapons to match the dangers. Magic to fight what attacked the body, knowledge to fight what attacked the mind. Both ways seemed to have slipped through the hands of modern man and a time of reckoning seemed at hand.

Ominous thoughts. Thoughts that were not really helping in dealing with the right here and the right now. Where the best thing you could do, was to become a person one could count on and to help a friend.


End file.
